Recent research on male fertility
British scientists have gained fresh insight into the causes of male infertility that promise to provide new treatments for couples struggling to have children.
Male fertility has been largely overlooked until recently with most treatments requiring women to take medication or undergo expensive and invasive procedures.
Up to half of the problems suffered by couples trying to conceive, however, are due to the man's fertility.
Now research into a key aspect of male fertility - how sperm cells swim - has enabled scientists to identify potential new treatments that can "supercharge" men's reproductive cells.
The scientists have discovered chemical compounds that increase the swimming ability of sperm cells and they believe this can help to boost the number of cells capable of reaching a woman's egg.
They are now using the compounds to develop a new gel they hope will increase the chance of couples conceiving naturally without the need for expensive treatments.
Their research could also help doctors to select healthier cells for use in assisted conception like IVF and intrauterine insemination.
Fertility treatments basically involve helping sperm to reach the egg.
The majority of these involve doing something quite invasive to the woman, often even though she may be perfectly healthy.
The scientists now have some compounds, that are in the early stages of testing, which can make more sperm will swim through cervical mucus, which means you would get more sperm into the uterus. This should increase natural fertility.
Yet only a third of all fertility problems suffered by couples are due to women - the rest lie with the male partner or an unknown cause.
There have also been some recent concerns that male infertility is increasing as studies have shown that up to a quarter of young men have poor quality semen.
The scientists studied what influences the motility, or movement, of sperm cells.
They have found that the most successful cells move in a specific way where they flick their tails in a whip-like motion. This motion is thought to be controlled by spikes and dips in the levels of calcium inside the cells.
They are now applying for a patent for a number of molecules that can help increase this whip-like motion with the intention of incorporating them into a gel that can be used by couples during sex to increase their chance of conceiving.
The compounds have proved successful in the laboratory but have yet to be used in any kind of clinical trial.
Other recent findings by the team have revealed that sperm cells crawl rather than swim towards the uterus, which may help to doctors select the most successful cells for use in more traditional fertility treatments.
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